Ph.D. Research
Remote detection of photosynthetic biocrust in snowpack-fed microhabitats of Antarctica Assessing photosynthetic biocrust detectability in the McMurdo Dry Valley terrestrial landscape using a combination of laboratory hyperspectral spectroscopy, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3 multispectral satellite imagery, and in-situ soil and biocrust surveying and sampling. This work was partially funded by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Power et al. 2024. Science of Remote Sensing. |
Influences of landscape history on microbial mat composition and activity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Comparing pigment composition and taxonomic diversity of microbial communities from two glacial tills in Taylor Valley, Antarctica with a natural geochemical gradient (i.e., high N:P vs. low N:P). Researching how microbial mats respond to multiple stressors (e.g., N limitation and intense UV-radiation). The cyanobacteria genus Nostoc produce scytonemin, a microbial sunscreen pigment, to screen harmful UV radiation. I am examining whether nitrogen availability influences the synthesis of scytonemin across a range of soils with varying N availability. |
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Collaborative Work
Remote characterization of photosynthetic communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys A collaborative research project with ecosystem/microbial/quantitative ecologists, planetary geologists, and remote sensing scientists: Jeb Barrett (VT), Sarah Power (VT), Mark Salvatore (NAU), Schuyler Borges (NAU), Lee Stanish (NEON), and Eric Sokol (NEON). We detect and characterize microbial mat communities using multispectral satellite imagery and handheld hyperspectral imaging spectrometers in combination with in-situ biological sampling and analyses. Salvatore et al. 2021. Int. J. Remote Sens. Salvatore et al. 2020. Antarct. Sci. |
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Long-term soil ecosystem studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys A collaborative research group of soil ecologists with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM LTER) Program: Jeb Barrett (VT), Byron Adams (BYU), and a number of graduate students and post-docs. |
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M.S. Research
Estimating microbial mat biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica using satellite imagery and ground surveys Quantified microbial mat biomass in the most productive wetland area of the McMurdo Dry Valleys by linking key biological properties (e.g., chlorophyll-a and scytonemin concentration, organic matter content, percent cover, etc.) with multispectral data (i.e., NDVI) using the WorldView-2 satellite. Power et al. 2020. Polar Biol. |
Undergraduate Research
A Mesocosm Experiment at Silver River: Determining nutrient enrichment effects on stream ecosystem metabolism Stream ecosystem metabolism study at Silver River in Ocala, Florida using one of seven nutrient combinations of nitrate, phosphorus, and iron. In this study, short-term metabolism was shown to be more controlled by environmental factors than nutrient enrichment. This research agrees with previous studies showing nutrient enrichment and depletion do not seem to be the driving factors in algal proliferation in Florida springs. Power et al. 2017. UF JUR. |